


Impatiently Felt

by Lu C (lu_campbell)



Category: North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
Genre: Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Parent Death, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23784829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lu_campbell/pseuds/Lu%20C
Summary: Two years after her mother dies Margaret Hale follows her father, Richard Hale, from Durham, North Carolina to small-town Pennsylvania. Richard's new job teaching at the local community college put him and his daughter in contact with John Thornton, a local entrepreneur looking to finish his bachelor's degree.Margaret, having just transitioned from a high-profile criminal defense attorney to public defender, thinks she has the world figured out. She knows the current American criminal justice system is broken, the vast majority of the world's evils come from capitalism, and John Thornton is definitely an ass.John Thornton would rather eat glass than listen to the privileged and out-of-touch daughter of his new professor explain to him how the world works. At least, that's what he'd say if anyone asked.---This is a modern retelling of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South set in America, all characters belong to her.
Relationships: Margaret Hale/John Thornton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Impatiently Felt

The apartment was small. It was small in a way that felt more cramped than cozy, but that may have been because the furniture filling it came from Margaret’s flat in Durham and was not meant for this kind of set-up. The apartment was one of two which sat above a grocery store on main street, two blocks from the busiest part of town. Margaret had felt lucky to get such a great location, but she now understood why the one-bedroom apartment had stood empty for so long. The rooms were narrow without much natural light, and the bedroom window looked out over a dingy alleyway full of dumpsters from the store below. Margaret decided she might need some curtains for this room, even if it did cut down on the already limited sunlight. Besides the unfortunate layout of the apartment, the rental arrangement itself was nice, as Margaret was renting from the grocery store owners, one of which lived in the apartment next to her. 

The grocery store was owned by Thomas and Beth Higgins. Beth lived next door, and the limited interaction Margaret had with her made her hopeful that Beth could be a friend, or at least someone to count on in an emergency. Not that Margaret anticipated an emergency, beyond the current worry that she may end up barricading herself inside her new home with her oversized furniture. Shipping it up north from her old apartment had seemed like the right thing to do, but now Margaret was beginning to think it had been an expensive waste of time. She pushed the too-long couch under the living room window and decided the bookshelf would have to go on the opposite wall, instead of next to the couch as she had previously wanted. After the shelf was in place she began organizing her books. She had packed them in large milk crates, and they had taken up so much room in her car that she had to ship a good part of her wardrobe along with her furniture. She started on the second crate and the first book that came to hand was an illustrated edition of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the newest addition to her collection.

The book had been a parting gift from Henry Lennox, another junior partner at her previous firm and the brother-in-law of her best friend, Edith. She and Henry had met when they accompanied Edith and his brother Charlie to a performance of Twelfth Night. The outing was intended to be a double date of sorts, but while Edith had ended the night with a second date with Charlie, Margaret had ended hers with a job offer. She considered Henry a good friend, if not a bit self-congratulatory, and thought this part of his parting gift quite thoughtful. The second part of his gift, a declaration of his feelings for her and a request that she stay in North Carolina instead of moving to Pennsylvania with her father, was less welcome. His admission had shocked her, and because of this her rejection hadn't been very tactful. He took the rejection well despite this, and promised their friendship would be unaffected and he would remain in touch. 

Margaret opened the front cover of the book to look at his inscription: _May you find friends and adventure on every strange shore. Sincerely, Henry_. It was a nice note, and told her Henry had been well prepared for her rejection. She sighed and put the book on the shelf before straightening up and dusting her hands off on her jean shorts. The sun was slanting through the window over the couch, and Margaret decided her afternoon of unpacking might be better with coffee. She grabbed her wallet and keys, double-checked for her phone in her back pocket, and walked out of the door into the warm July afternoon.

Halfway down the block on her way towards town, Margaret’s phone began to ring. She picked it up.

“Hi dad, how’s your new office?”

“Oh hi Maggie, I’m so glad I caught you. Are you busy?”

“No, just taking a break from unpacking. What’s going on? Do you need anything?”

“Oh nothing, really. I wanted you to come by campus and see the office they’ve given me. You know you have a good eye for decorating.”

“Yeah, sure thing dad. I’m on my way to grab coffee, do you want anything?” Margaret crossed the street towards what looked like a cafe.

“Oh, that’s so sweet of you. Maybe a nice herbal tea? Chamomile?” Margaret could hear her father move some papers around as he said this and she smiled.

“Absolutely, I’ll be there soon.”

The walk from the coffee shop to her father’s office only took Margaret about ten minutes, but in that time she sweated through the back of her t-shirt and entered the air conditioned campus building gratefully. She got his office number from the front desk, and took the elevator to the seventh floor. She followed the hallway down to office 740, and noted with affection the post-it note which read “Prof. Richard Hale, PhD, J.D.” in the empty space a name plate would go. She pushed open the door with her shoulder, stepping into an office stacked with cardboard crates, sun from the window streaking through motes of dusk.

“They didn’t have chamomile but I brought you peppermint, I hope that’s okay,” Margaret said as she stepped into the shadowy office. The man standing in the center of the room turned around, and Margaret immediately realized it wasn’t her father. If she had been paying attention to anything besides not spilling her father’s tea she would have known that immediately, as despite being about the same height as her father, the two men looked absolutely nothing alike. The man before Margaret was about the same age she was, with broad shoulders, brown skin, and was wearing a crisp suit which looked out of place in the stuffy academic office. To contrast, Margaret’s father was rather frail, white, and wore almost exclusively sweater vests.

“Oh, you’re not Richard Hale. Do you work with him?” Margaret put her own half-full iced latte and her father’s tea on an empty patch of desk. The man’s eyes narrowed.

“No I do not, but I am here to see Professor Hale. His email said to meet him here, who are you?” Now it was Margaret’s turn to narrow her eyes. 

“I’m his daughter, Margaret Hale.” Margaret stuck out her hand, but also raised her chin as a silent challenge. She was irritated by this man’s glare, and found his questions misplaced in this office where she felt she belonged without explanation.

“John Thornton.” He shook her hand firmly. He had very intense eyes, which combined with his impressive glower made Margaret feel a little off-balance. She withdrew her hand and put both in her back pockets, leaning back on her heels.

“What brings you to my father’s office Mr. Thornton?” 

“I have a meeting with him.” John Thornton’s expression did not soften, if anything his eyebrows drew more closely together.

“Right,” Margaret said, “so I gathered.” She gave a half smile and took a sip of her drink. John blew a hard breath out of his nose and checked his phone.

“Is your father often late?” It was as if he were accusing Margaret of both causing, and being tainted by association to, her father’s tardiness. She found this very annoying.

“Sometimes,” she finally replied. John sighed again, and Margaret wondered idly why he had scheduled a meeting for this time when he clearly had somewhere to be.

“I do have a schedule to keep, do you think it would be best if I come back later?” He asked, shifting from one foot to another. Just as Margaret was about to suggest waiting a few more minutes before leaving, Richard Hale’s slim frame and voluminous hair filled the doorway.

“You must be Mr. Thornton! So sorry I’m late. Oh, and I see you’ve met my daughter. So nice of you to come by, Maggie. Now Mr. Thornton, I’m so sorry to take up your time like this. Would you like to talk about the class schedule while walking or do you have a few more minutes to spare?” Richard Hale’s warm greeting seemed to surprise John, as he took a moment before responding.

“Um, don’t worry about being late, I know you just moved here and I’m sure things are hectic. If you don’t mind, walking and talking would be great. Normally I wouldn’t ask but I have an important meeting I don’t want to be late to.” 

“Of course, of course!” Richard said, stepping back out into the hallway. “It won’t happen again. Maggie, I hope you don’t mind? I’ll be back in ten at the most.”

“Of course not,” Margaret smiled tightly at John, who nodded before heading towards the door. At the last moment he appeared to remember something and looked back.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Hale,” he said.

“Just Margaret is fine, and you as well, Mr. Thornton.”

“John, then.” He paused for a moment more before nodding and following Richard Hale down the hall. 

Their voices faded quickly and Margaret slumped in her father’s chair, sipping the last of her watery iced latte. She spun in the chair, looking around the little office with interest. It was certainly smaller than what her father was used to, but it had the same collegiate charm and she was sure he would feel right at home once all his books were on display. She glanced at the unopened cardboard boxes holding the unassembled bookshelves, and decided to make herself useful. True to form, her father was not back for another thirty minutes, so Margaret was about two-thirds of the way through the first bookshelf by the time he returned. 

“Oh, Maggie, you didn’t need to do that,” he said from the doorway. Margaret smiled up at him from the floor.

“I don’t mind! Plus, I would hate for you to injure yourself putting them up.”

“I am not a feeble old man Margaret. Contrary to popular belief I can take care of myself.” At the use of her full name Margaret looked up at her father, and instantly felt bad for voicing her worries.

“I’m sorry, dad, I know you can. Of course you can. I’m just a worrier, and you know I feel better if I’m involved. Will you humor me with this?” Her father’s face softened.

“Hm, how diplomatic. I sense here we are humoring one another. But if you wish to put up my bookshelves, by all means have at it.” Margaret smiled and returned to the task at hand. An hour later the shelves were assembled, and her father had made a significant dent in the organization of his many files and papers. Margaret stood back and admired her handiwork before turning to her father. He nodded his approval.

“I think we can call it a day here, Maggie. I’ll fill them with actual books tomorrow. Let’s go grab something to eat, I’ll buy you dinner.” Richard put his phone and wallet in his pockets and motioned towards the door.

“Thanks dad, but let me treat you! I think I’m good for it.”

“Hm, that may be, but I heard a rumor that something is starting a job as a public defender and may need all the free dinners she can get.” Richard laughed at his daughter’s mock offense and ushered her out of his office, locking the door behind them.

“You wound me,” Margaret joked. “But who am I to turn down free food?” The two laughed and chatted their way out of the campus building and into the soft darkness of a summer night.

***

Margaret returned to her apartment later that evening, and when she made her way up the stairs to her front door found Beth Higgins on the landing entering her own apartment. Beth looked up with a tired smile.

“Margaret! It is Margaret, right?”

“Yes, hi Beth. How are you?” Margaret had taken her keys out of her pocket on her way up the stairs, but sensing a longer conversation put them back.

“I’m alright, and yourself? How are you settling in?”

“Good so far, though I still have a lot of moving in to do.” Margaret thought about the mess waiting for her behind her door and felt even more tired.

“I’m sure, I remember seeing the movers bring in a lot of stuff. Are you moving it all by yourself?”

“Yeah, it’s just me. I don’t mind doing it all, it just takes a while and I hate living in an unfinished space for too long.” Margaret hoped that once she had set up her apartment she might be able to invite Beth over for a drink or coffee. Having a friend so nearby might help make her transition to life here less lonely.

“Right, I completely understand. Before you brave your own apartment, do you want to come in for some tea or something? I always like to meet the new tenant, and your apartment has been empty for so long. Of course, if you’re tired I completely understand,” Beth rushed through the last sentence and Margaret belatedly realized she hadn’t said anything yet.

“Yes, yes I’d love to! I don’t know anyone in town except my father so far,” Margaret said. Beth smiled and opened her door.

“Great! Come on in,” Beth led the way into her apartment, toeing her shoes off and turning lights on as she went. Margaret took her shoes off as well, and followed Beth towards her kitchen, looking around the space which was identical to her own, only mirrored. Beth’s apartment gave an impression of warmth and soft light, with well-worn but carefully arranged furniture and shelves stacked with old paperbacks, knick knacks, and records. Her kitchen was similarly crammed with possessions, but still avoided feeling overwhelming and instead felt lived-in and welcoming. Margaret sat at the small table, which was painted brick red and had the scorched outline of an iron pressed into the paint on one side, and watched Beth fill an electric kettle and plug it in before she sat down as well.

“So, Margaret,” she began, “tell me a bit about yourself. You’re from North Carolina, yes?” 

“Yes, sort of. I mean that’s where I moved from. I lived in Georgia, in Savannah, until I was eighteen and then I went to college in Nashville. My parents moved to North Carolina while I was away at school. Then I went to law school in North Carolina and settled there as well.” Margaret told the story in one long breath, and then immediately worried she had overshared.

“So you’ve lived in the south your whole life? Have you ever visited this part of the country before?” Beth asked before glancing over at the electric kettle, which was beginning to faintly steam. She stood up and grabbed two mugs, putting them on the table alongside a box of peppermint tea.

“Oh well I’ve visited New York before,” Margaret said. “And I’ve visited a few cities while picking out colleges and stuff, but I’ve always preferred the south. Things move a little slower, people are a little more welcoming, and I also really hate the cold.” Beth nodded thoughtfully while she added teabags and poured the hot water.

“I guess I can understand that. Though small town Pennsylvania is pretty slow and friendly, at least in my experience,” Beth said. She sat down and pushed one of the mugs towards Margaret.

“Yeah? Well that’s really good to hear. I have to say I was a bit put off by New York and maybe I let that influence my opinion a little too much.” Margaret blew on her tea and took a careful sip. Beth laughed and nodded. 

“Yeah, I don’t really like New York very much either. But, I mean, here we’re only an hour or so outside of Philadelphia, and it feels much more manageable than New York even though it’s still pretty busy. You should give the northeast a chance, it could grow on you,” Beth said. Margaret smiled in return.

“Good, I’m counting on it.” The two sipped their tea in silence for a long minute before Beth spoke again.

“So you say I’m the first person you know here besides your father? How long ago did he move here?” she asked.

“Oh, we moved at the same time. And actually,” Margaret corrected herself, “I did meet someone else today. I’m not sure we’ll be friends anytime soon, though.” 

“You moved here with your father? Did you have a job offer or something?” Beth’s eyebrows drew together.

“Oh,” Margaret belatedly realized she hadn’t intended to reveal so much about herself in this first conversation, but it was too late to take it back now. 

“Well actually, I sort of followed him here. He, um, well he left his old job and he was offered a new one teaching at the community college here. I didn’t really want him to move up here by himself, he’s not in the best health and, well, my mom died two years ago. So I found a job and moved here with him.” Margaret could feel herself blushing and took a too-large sip of her tea, scalding the top of her mouth. 

She knew the story made her sound more generous than she was, but she didn’t quite know how to explain that wasn’t the case. She was terrified that something would happen to her father and she would be too far away to reach him, so she had followed him to Pennsylvania. She stared into her mug of tea instead of meeting Beth’s heavy gaze.

“I’m so sorry,” Beth said. “I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories. I think what you’re doing for your father shows a lot of courage.” Margaret knew it didn’t, but wasn’t quite sure how to explain that without either sounding deranged or bursting into tears.

“Thank you. And I’m the one who’s sorry, I didn’t mean to be so serious. I mean, this is my first real conversation with you, you must think I’m such a downer!” Margaret attempted a smile, and Beth returned it.

“Not at all, I’m glad you told me. But we can talk about something else if you’d prefer,” Beth said. Margaret nodded gratefully.

“So,” Beth began, “tell me about this other person you said you met. The one who you said you won’t be making friends with.”

“Oh!” Margaret laughed. “I met him when I went to go meet my dad today. He just seemed really irritated by my presence or something, like I had somehow offended him but I’m not quite sure what I did. His name is John Thornton, do you know him?” 

“Do I know him?” Beth laughed, and Margaret gave her a confused look. “Oh, right sorry, you’re so new! Everyone knows John Thornton. He started his own company here about ten years ago and created this platform that is used by a ton of companies in the region. Everyone’s surprised he still lives here, because he could sell his company for millions or take it to New York and expand any time he wanted to. This may sound really small-town to you, but he’s a little bit of a local celebrity. How did you offend him?” 

“Wow, okay,” Margaret said. “And I honestly have no idea. I came into my dad’s office, he was there, and I asked him if he worked with my dad. I mean, I thought he was a faculty member or a grad student or something. Why are you laughing?” Margaret stared at Beth, who had started giggling at her story.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just, he’s not the sort of man who is used to being asked who he is. I'm pretty sure he invested a lot in the community college and the surrounding properties, too, so I bet he was just a little taken aback is all. I doubt he’s actually offended or anything.”

“He seemed sort of offended. And how was I supposed to know who he was? My dad and I just moved here!” Margaret found herself getting offended all over again. Beth noticed and laughed.

“No of course, I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong. He’s just sort of an intense guy, definitely don’t take it personally,” Beth seemed to consider something for a moment before speaking again. “Actually, now I’m wondering why he was there. What does your dad teach? Sorry if you already said.”

“Oh, no worries I don’t think I did. He used to be a law professor but now he’s teaching constitutional law and legal theory.”

“Woah, fancy,” Beth said. “Well maybe the illustrious Mr. Thornton had a legal question or something.” She shrugged, and Margaret did as well.

“Yeah maybe,” Margaret said. “Anyway, tell me about you and your dad. How long have you been a co-owner?” 

“Oh, well actually I was made co-owner when I turned eighteen. But I’ve been helping to run the business since way before that,” Beth launched into the story of growing the business alongside her father since he bought the store when she was fifteen. Margaret noticed that Beth seemed to have a few gaps in her story, but she figured she would learn the rest if and when Beth felt comfortable telling her. 

Beth refilled their mugs and they talked for another hour; about the store, books, music, and increasingly ridiculous theories about why John Thornton might have been in Richard Hale’s office that afternoon. Around 10:00 pm Beth noticed the time.

“Oh shit! I’m so sorry Margaret, but I have to go to bed so I can open up the store tomorrow morning.”

“Oh no worries! I’m sorry I kept you up so late. Thank you so much for inviting me, next time hopefully my apartment will be finished so I can host?” Margaret phrased it as a question. She was hopeful Beth could be her first friend here, so she might begin to feel like she belonged.

“That sounds lovely!” Beth smiled before standing to put both mugs in the sink.

“Oh, please let me wash those,” Margaret said. “It’s really the least I can do.” Beth laughed.

“I supposed this is the famous southern hospitality. And absolutely not! I’ll just be throwing them in the dishwasher anyway. But I’ll see you soon, don’t be a stranger okay!” After another moment of thought Beth tore half of a sheet from the pad on her fridge and scribbled out her number. “Let me know when you want to do this again!” 

“Thank you,” Margaret said, pocketing the slip of paper. “I’ll let you know when my apartment’s all set up. Do you drink? Because then we can have wine and cheese.”

“I absolutely drink,” Beth laughed. “That sounds amazing, can’t wait!” While they talked Margaret moved to the door and stooped to put her shoes back on. 

“Well I’ll see you soon then!” Margaret said, stepping into the hallway.

“For sure!” Beth grinned, “have a nice night Margaret.” She waved and closed the door.

Margaret unlocked her apartment and immediately felt exhausted. She narrowly avoided throwing herself into bed fully dressed, and instead settled for just stripping off her shirt and pants and crawling beneath her cool sheets. She was asleep in minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've written any fiction, but this is a story that I've been wanting to write for a while and I'm using the Corona-induced free time I now have to work on it. North and South is a really great novel to update because in addition to it's amazing romance, the story tackles the political and social issues of the time much more directly than similar novels of the 19th century (think Austen's more subtle social commentary - no shade to Jane though, I love her too). 
> 
> My goal with this fic is to make the characters, relationships, and message of the story feel modern and relevant while still keeping the most important aspects of the story intact. The books original interrogation of the importance of workers' rights is still salient, and in future chapters I'll be trying to keep this theme central while focusing on the current conversations happening in this political arena. Finally, this fic is set in America instead of England. I did this for two reasons: one, I'm from America so it made a lot of things easier on me; and two, the north/south dynamic in America is similar but distinct from that in England*, and I thought it would be interesting to explore.
> 
> In the future I'll be using this notes section to explain why I made some of the choices I did in terms of changes to plot and/or characterization. I might also use it as a space to expand on some of the research that goes into this fic. Reading this section is totally optional! I just like to have a record of my thought process alongside the work itself. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have! 
> 
> *Similar because of the way the economies break down in terms of north=industry, south=agriculture. Obviously the American Civil War is a huge difference and contributes to tensions we still see today.


End file.
